Susan P. Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American theatre director,

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

, film director and performer. Her notable theater productions include '' The Producers'', '' Crazy for You'', '' Contact'', and '' The Scottsboro Boys''. She is a five-time Tony Award winner, four for

Best Choreography The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner ...

and one as Best Director of a Musical for ''The Producers''. In addition, she is a recipient of two

Laurence Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

, five Drama Desk Awards, eight Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, and the George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater. She is a 2014 inductee in the American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City.

Early years

Stroman was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Frances (née Nolan) and Charles Harry Stroman. She was exposed to show tunes by her piano-playing salesman father. She began studying dance, concentrating on jazz, tap, and ballet at the age of five. She studied under James Jamieson at the Academy of the Dance in Wilmington. She majored in English at the University of Delaware. She performed, choreographed and directed at community theaters in the Delaware and Philadelphia area. After graduating in 1976, she moved to New York City. Her first professional appearance was in '' Hit the Deck'' at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1977. Later that year she was cast in the role of Hunyak in the National tour of '' Chicago'', which marked her first time working with composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. Her first Broadway credit was as an ensemble member in the 1979 musical '' Whoopee!''. In 1980 she was assistant director, assistant choreographer, and dance captain for the Broadway show ''Musical Chairs''. Wanting to direct and choreograph instead of perform, Stroman concentrated on creating for the theater. She worked in small venues as a director and choreographer in various industrial shows, club acts and commercials.

Career

Theatre

Early career: ''Flora the Red Menace'' (1987) to ''Center Stage'' (2000)

Stroman's big break as a choreographer came in 1987 with the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

revival of '' Flora the Red Menace'' (music by John Kander and Fred Ebb) at the Vineyard Theatre. Her work there was seen by Hal Prince, who hired her to create the dance sequences for his New York City Opera production of ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

.'' Her relationship with Kander and Ebb led to co-creating, along with Scott Ellis and David Thompson, the 1991 hit Off-Broadway musical '' And the World Goes 'Round''. In 1992 she went on to choreograph ''Liza Stepping Out at Radio City Music Hall'' starring

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

, receiving an Emmy nomination for her work. Later that year she earned her third Broadway credit for her collaboration with director, and then-future husband, Mike Ockrent on '' Crazy for You''. The show won the Tony Award for Best Musical and she won her first Tony Award for Best Choreography. In 1994, Stroman won her second Tony Award when she collaborated with Prince on a revival of '' Show Boat'', where she used some of her most innovative ideas. She added several dance montages to the show, complete with a revolving door, to help guide the audience through the generations that are covered in the show. Stroman heavily researched the period in which the show takes place and learned that African-Americans are credited for inventing the

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

. She used that information in designing the montages, as the popular dance is introduced by and eventually appropriated from the black characters. In 1994, Stroman collaborated again with her husband Mike Ockrent on the holiday spectacular ''A Christmas Carol'' at Madison Square Garden, which ran for 10 years, and the Broadway musical '' Big, The Musical'' (1996). She returned to her collaboration with Kander and Ebb, Ellis and Thompson on the Broadway musical ''Steel Pier'' (1997). In 1999, her choreography of ''Oklahoma!'', directed by Trevor Nunn at the

Royal National Theater The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. In ...

, won Stroman her second Olivier Award for her outstanding choreography. Stroman's husband Mike Ockrent died from leukemia on December 2, 1999. She immersed herself in her work and directed and choreographed her first Broadway show as director, the 2000 revival of '' The Music Man''. At the same time, Stroman was approached by Lincoln Center Theater's artistic director André Bishop, who offered assistance with developing the project of her choice. She and John Weidman, who had written the book for ''Big'', began working on what would become the three-part "dance play" '' Contact'', which she choreographed as well as directed. The show opened at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theater in the fall of 1999, and later transferred to the larger Vivian Beaumont Theater, where it was reclassified as a musical. It won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical. Stroman won her third Tony Award for best choreography. ''Contact'' won a 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Classical Music-Dance Program when a live broadcast of the show appeared as an episode of PBS's Live from Lincoln Center. For Lincoln Center Theater, Stroman went on to direct and choreograph '' Thou Shalt Not'' (2001) with music by

Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...

and '' The Frogs'' (2004) with book by Nathan Lane.

Career after 2001: ''The Producers'' (2001) to present

In 2001, Stroman directed and choreographed the Mel Brooks musical '' The Producers''. Stroman's late husband, Ockrent, had initially been named to direct. It was a commercial success and won a record twelve Tony Awards. Stroman won her fourth and fifth Tony Awards for direction and choreography, becoming the first woman to win both awards in the same night. She was also the second woman ever to win Best Direction of a Musical after Julie Taymor in 1998. In 2005, she made her feature film directorial debut with a

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of the show. The movie was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, she again collaborated with Brooks, as director and choreographer of the musical '' Young Frankenstein''. In the fall of 2017, she and Brooks opened a newly revised version of the show at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End after a successful tryout at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle. She directed and choreographed the musical ''Happiness'', which has a book by John Weidman, music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie. The musical opened in February 2009 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center. The musical '' The Scottsboro Boys'' opened at the Vineyard Theatre in February 2010. The music is by Kander and Ebb and the book is by David Thompson; Stroman both directed and choreographed. The show later transferred to Broadway where it ran for 49 performances at the Lyceum Theatre and received 12 Tony Award Nominations. Regional theaters such as the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

in Minneapolis, San Diego's Old Globe,

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Ameri ...

in San Francisco, and the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles have all mounted successful productions of the show. In 2013, Stroman directed the UK premiere of the show at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

in London. After its successful run there, the show transferred to the West End where it was honored with the 2014 Evening Standard's Ned Sherrin Award. She co-directed with Hal Prince the new musical '' Paradise Found'', which premiered at the Menier Chocolate Factory (London) on May 19, 2010. The cast included Mandy Patinkin, Judy Kaye and Shuler Hensley. Stroman directed and choreographed the new musical, '' Big Fish'' with songs by Andrew Lippa and book by John August. The show, based on the book and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

of the same name, opened at the Oriental Theater in Chicago in April and May 2013 and then ran on Broadway in September 2013 to December 2013. In 2014 she directed and choreographed a production of '' The Merry Widow'' for the Metropolitan Opera, starring Renee Fleming in the title role. Stroman worked with Woody Allen on a musical adaptation of his film '' Bullets Over Broadway'', titled '' Bullets Over Broadway the Musical'', which opened on Broadway in April 2014. She directed and choreographed the new musical ''

Little Dancer The Little Dancer is a low-floor tram brand built by Alna Sharyo, a Japanese manufacturer of trams and light rail vehicles. Overview The name "Little Dancer" was chosen by Alna Sharyo for two reasons, firstly to evoke an image of a lively dan ...

'', which ran at the Kennedy Center, Eisenhower Theater from October 25, 2014 to November 30. The book and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens and music by

Stephen Flaherty Stephen Flaherty (born September 18, 1960) is an American composer of musical theatre and film. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/book writer Lynn Ahrens. They are best known for writing the Broadway musicals ''Ragtime'', whi ...

. In the spring of 2019 she directed and choreographed ''Marie, Dancing Still'' for Seattle's

5th Avenue Theatre The 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theatre located in Seattle's Skinner Building, in the U.S. state of Washington. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building and land are owned b ...

. A newly reworked and retitled production of ''Little Dancer'', the show starred Tiler Peck reprising her title role alongside Terrence Mann and Louise Pitre. Stroman collaborated with Prince once again as co-director of a new musical entitled '' Prince of Broadway'', a retrospective of the career and life of Hal Prince. The show has orchestrations and new material written by Jason Robert Brown. The revue premiered in Tokyo at the Tokyu Theatre Orb in October 2015 and then ran in Osaka in November through December 2015, and featured Tony Yazbeck, Ramin Karimloo, Shuler Hensley and Nancy Opel. It premiered on Broadway on August 24, 2017 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre as a co-production of the Manhattan Theatre Club and Gorgeous Entertainment. The book is by David Thompson. In 2016 she returned to the Vineyard Theatre to direct the play ''Dot'', written by Colman Domingo. The following year she directed and choreographed her fourth collaboration with the Vineyard Theatre, ''The Beast in the Jungle'', winning the 2018 Joe Callaway Award for excellence in choreography. The music was composed by John Kander and the book written by David Thompson. In April 2022, Stroman directed the Broadway play '' POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive'', at the Shubert Theatre. This year, Stroman directed and choreographed the Chichester Festival Theatre revival of ''Crazy For You'', which is also set to transfer to the West End's Gillian Lynne Theatre in 2023.

Dance

In 2004, Stroman was the first woman to choreograph a full-length ballet for New York City Ballet. ''

Double Feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

'', with music by Irving Berlin and Walter Donaldson, is now in the New York City Ballet repertory. Stroman had previously worked with New York City Ballet in 1999, when she created ''Blossom Got Kissed'', featuring the music of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, to celebrate the company's 50th Anniversary season. She later revisited the piece, choreographing three additional short dances to be performed alongside the original. This new expanded ballet entitled ''For the Love of Duke'' premiered in May 2011. In 1997 she created ''But Not for Me'' for the

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

Company, using the music of George Gershwin. The world premiere of ''Take Five…More Or Less'' with The Pacific Northwest Ballet opened in 2008. Stroman combined jazz music by

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

and classical pointe work. The ballet is now in their repertoire.

Television

She appeared as herself in Season Four of the HBO series ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...

'', directing Larry David and David Schwimmer in a production of the Broadway hit musical, ''The Producers''. In 2017 she returned to the show, choreographing Larry David's musical Fatwa!, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda as Salman Rushdie. She has also made multiple appearances as herself on the Food Network's '' Barefoot Contessa'' program, as she is a close friend of its host, Ina Garten.

Film

Stroman received the American Choreography Award for her work in Columbia Pictures Feature film '' Center Stage'' (2000). In 2004, she directed the film version of '' The Producers''.

Awards and nominations

Stroman received the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre for 2018, presented by the York Theatre Company. Other notable awards include ''

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

'' Magazine's Woman of the Year Award (2001), The George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater (2002), and the Sackler Center First Award (2012) honoring extraordinary women who are first in their field. She is a 2002

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

"Library Lion" inductee for Outstanding Achievement in Art, Culture, Letters and Scholarship and a 2014 inductee into New York City's

Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

. In 2005 Stroman received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Delaware.

Stage productions

;Theater * 1980 ''Musical Chairs'' (1980 Musical) (Assistant Director/Choreographer) (Broadway) * 1987 '' Flora the Red Menace'' (Choreographer) (Off-Broadway) * 1989 ''

'' (Choreographer) (New York City Opera) * 1990 '' A Little Night Music'' (Choreographer) (New York City Opera) * 1991 '' And The World Goes 'Round'' (Choreographer) (Off-Broadway) * 1992 ''

– Stepping Out At Radio City'' (Choreographer) * 1992 ''

110 in the Shade ''110 in the Shade'' is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt. Based on Nash's 1954 play '' The Rainmaker'', it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest ...

'' (Choreographer) (New York City Opera) * 1992 '' Crazy for You'' (Choreographer) (Broadway) * 1993 '' Crazy for You'' (Choreographer) (West End) * 1994 '' Show Boat'' (Choreographer) (Toronto/Broadway) * 1994 ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

'' (Choreographer of Musical Interludes) (Broadway) * 1994 ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

'' (Choreographer) (Madison Square Garden) * 1996 '' Big'' (Choreographer) (Broadway) * 1997 ''

Steel Pier The Steel Pier is a 1,000-foot-long () amusement park built on a pier of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, across from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly the Trump Taj Mahal). Begun in 1898, it was one of the most po ...

'' (Choreographer) (Broadway) * 1998 '' Show Boat'' (Choreographer) (West End) * 1998 ''

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

!'' (Choreographer) (West End) * 1999 '' Contact'' (Director/Choreographer) (Off-Broadway) (Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center Theater) * 2000 '' The Music Man'' (Director/Choreographer) (Broadway) * 2000 '' Contact'' (Director/Choreographer) (Broadway) ( Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center Theater) * 2001 '' The Producers'' (Director/Choreographer) (Broadway) * 2001 '' Thou Shalt Not'' (Director/Choreographer/creator) (Broadway) (Lincoln Center Theater) * 2002 ''

!'' (Choreographer) (Broadway) * 2002 '' Contact'' (Director/Choreographer) (West End) * 2004 '' The Frogs'' (Director/Choreographer) (Broadway) ( Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center Theater) * 2004 '' The Producers'' (Director/Choreographer) (West End) * 2005 ''Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams'' (Choreographer of Musical Interludes) (Off-Broadway) * 2007 '' Young Frankenstein'' (Director/Choreographer) (Broadway) * 2008 ''Happiness'' (Director/Choreographer) (Off-Broadway) (Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center Theater) * 2010 '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (Director/Choreographer) (Off-Broadway) ( Vineyard Theatre) * 2010 '' Paradise Found'' (Co-director/Choreographer) ( Menier Chocolate Factory) * 2010 '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (Director/Choreographer) (Broadway) ( Lyceum Theatre) * 2013 '' Big Fish'' (Director/Choreographer) (Broadway) ( Neil Simon Theatre) * 2014 '' Bullets over Broadway'' (Director/Choreographer) (Broadway) (St. James Theatre) * 2014 ''

'' (Director/Choreographer) Kennedy Center * 2015
The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville
' (Director/Choreographer) (Off-Broadway) * 2015 '' Prince of Broadway'' (Co-director/Choreographer) Tokyo * 2016
Dot
' (Director) (Off-Broadway) ( Vineyard Theatre) * 2017 '' Prince of Broadway'' (Co-director/Choreographer) (Broadway) (Manhattan Theater Club) * 2017 '' Young Frankenstein'' (Director/Choreographer) (West End) * 2018
Beast in the Jungle
' (Director/Choreographer) (Off-Broadway) (

Vineyard Theater The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981. It is best known for its productions of the Tony award-winning ...

) * 2019
Marie, Dancing Still
' (Director/Choreographer) (Seattle's

) ;Dance * 1997 ''But Not for Me'' (

Company) * 1999 ''Blossom Got Kissed'' ( New York City Ballet) * 2004 ''

'': ''The Blue Necklace'' and ''Makin' Whoopee'' ( New York City Ballet) * 2008 ''Take Five...More or Less'' ( Pacific Northwest Ballet) * 2011 ''For the Love of Duke'' ( New York City Ballet) ;Opera * 2014 ''The Merry Widow'' (Director/Choreographer) ( The Metropolitan Opera) * 2015 ''The Merry Widow'' (Director/Choreographer) (

The Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria C ...

)

References

External links

SusanStroman.com
* *
Susan Stroman
– ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org
Susan Stroman
TIME ''Broadway's Favorite Babe'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Stroman, Susan 1954 births American choreographers American musical theatre directors Ballet choreographers Drama Desk Award winners Helpmann Award winners Living people Artists from Wilmington, Delaware American people of German descent Tony Award winners University of Delaware alumni Women theatre directors